"Shut up!" Elder Liu was already furious and wouldn't listen to reason. "This isn't up to you!"
With that, Elder Liu gave the two no chance to refuse.
Her sleeves swept out, and an irresistible surge of Spiritual Power instantly wrapped around Su He and Li Miao.
"Let's go!"
With a sharp shout, wind rose beneath Elder Liu's feet. She swept out of the alchemy room in a menacing rush, dragging along her two disciples, whose faces said they'd rather be dead.
Thirty-Fourth Chapter: My Head Was Spinning.
Elder Liu led her two disciples on a furious march all the way to the Back Mountain of Huiyuan Gate.
If looks could kill, the flowers and trees along the way would have withered on the spot.
Su He and Li Miao followed behind their master with their heads hanging, like two quails on their way to the chopping block.
At the entrance to the Side Courtyard, Elder Liu didn't even knock. With a sweep of her sleeve, the two heavy Rosewood Gates burst open with a bang, kicking up dust everywhere.
"Where is Elder Ren?"
Her sharp shout carried a thick surge of Spiritual Power, shaking leaves from the trees in the courtyard. The Spirit Crane that had just been coaxed down gave another frightened shudder, then flapped away and vanished from sight.
Hearing the commotion, Ren Wencai wasn't annoyed in the least. He rose slowly, brushed the dirt from his hands, and plastered on his signature cheerful grin—the sort that made people want to punch him.
"Well, if it isn't Junior Sister Liu! What brings you here? Such a rare visitor!"
He pretended to welcome her, his gaze sweeping over the two pale-faced female disciples behind Elder Liu, their eyes darting nervously. He immediately saw right through them.
Looks like that kid Enchuan was right. They've brought their complaint right to my doorstep.
Elder Liu snorted, not buying his act for a second.
"Cut the grinning! Ren Wencai, you've certainly raised your disciples well!"
"Now, where did that come from, Junior Sister?"
Ren Wencai feigned surprise, his eyes going round.
"Every disciple under my tutelage is well-behaved and sensible. How did they manage to anger you?"
"Well-behaved and sensible?"
Elder Liu laughed in fury and pointed at Su He and Li Miao behind her.
"Take a look for yourself! See what your disciples did to these two girls! One injured her neck, the other her lungs! And you call that well-behaved?!"
Ren Wencai followed her finger and clicked his tongue, looking heartbroken.
"Oh, dear. Who did this? What a brute—no regard for a woman's feelings! He certainly deserves a beating!"
"Stop pretending!"
Elder Liu stepped forward, pressing him hard.
"If you don't give me an explanation today, I'll tear this rotten courtyard down! Hand over that disciple of yours named Jiang Lu—and that accomplice, Gu Chengming!"
"Jiang Lu?"
Ren Wencai was taken aback.
He'd assumed she'd come to make trouble for Gu Chengming. How had Jiang Lu become the main culprit?
He was no fool. His eyes shifted, flicking over Su He and Li Miao. The guilty looks on their faces, as though they wanted to sink into the ground, made him understand at once.
So they didn't dare admit Gu Chengming had beaten them, and dumped the blame on Jiang Lu instead?
Ren Wencai held back his laughter, but his face took on a solemn expression of sudden understanding.
"You're saying Jiang Lu did it?"
"Of course!" Elder Liu snapped. "If that Jiang Lu hadn't relied on his First Realm Level Seven cultivation and teamed up with someone to ambush them, how could my two disciples have suffered such a loss? Two grown men picking on two helpless women—isn't that shameless?!"
"Ahem..."
Ren Wencai coughed twice, hiding the twitch at the corner of his mouth.
What a team ambush. What First Realm Level Seven.
Junior Sister Liu must have been thoroughly taken in by those two disciples of hers.
But he didn't call her out. Instead, he played along.
"In that case, we certainly ought to get to the bottom of it. Someone, bring Jiang Lu and Gu Chengming here!"
A moment later.
Gu Chengming and Jiang Lu were brought to the Side Courtyard.
The moment Jiang Lu stepped inside and saw Elder Liu's face, black as the bottom of a pot, and the two senior sisters who had clearly just made a damning accusation, his knees started to buckle.
"Disciples... greet Elder Ren and Elder Liu."
The two bowed.
Elder Liu didn't even look at Gu Chengming. Her phoenix eyes fixed on Jiang Lu, as though she meant to swallow him whole.
"You? You relied on your superior cultivation to ambush my disciples?"
Jiang Lu: "Huh?"
Dumbfounded, he looked up at Elder Liu, then at Su He, and pointed at himself.
"Me? Ambush them?"
"And you still dare deny it!"
Gu Chengming thought, Poor Junior Brother Jiang. You really drew the short straw.
Remembering his promise not to drag Jiang Lu into this, he stepped forward and stood in front of him, cutting Elder Liu off.
Gu Chengming remained calm as he cupped his hands toward Elder Liu, his voice earnest.
"Elder Liu, this has nothing to do with Junior Brother Jiang."
"The situation was urgent. I acted alone. Junior Brother Jiang merely watched from the side and never lifted a hand."
The courtyard fell silent for a moment.
Elder Liu froze. Then, as if she'd just heard the funniest joke in the world, she laughed in fury.
"You?"
A First Realm Level Four fighter had beaten one opponent at Level Five and another at Level Six?
Why was everyone at Huiyuan Gate so dishonest? The old ones played dumb, and the young ones lied through their teeth!
"Please calm down, Junior Sister. Calm down."
Ren Wencai, who had been watching the show, finally spoke.
He walked forward with a genial smile, stepping between them like a peacemaker.
"Since both sides insist on their own version, this is hard to settle. At Wenjian Sect, we believe in convincing people with reason. Of course, sometimes we also believe in convincing them with strength."
"Here's what I suggest."
Ren Wencai finally revealed his true intention.
"Since you believe my disciple bullied them by relying on his strength, let's settle it with a match here and now."
"Have Gu Chengming spar with your two outstanding disciples again."
"If he loses, then he was lying, and Jiang Lu's ambush will be proven. You can deal with him however you see fit."
"But if he wins..."
"Then that proves the boy has the ability to do it, and clears up the misunderstanding. How about it?"
Elder Liu laughed coldly to herself.
So this was what Ren Wencai had been waiting for?
He thought he could get Jiang Lu off the hook this way? Did he really think her two disciples were made of clay?
They'd been ambushed before. This time, they'd be facing him head-on and on guard. How could they possibly lose to a First Realm Level Four weakling?
He was practically handing her the evidence on a silver platter!
"Fine!" Elder Liu agreed at once.
Su He and Li Miao exchanged a glance. They both saw despair in the other's eyes.
But they'd already reached the point of no return.
Su He gritted her teeth, reassuring herself: Last time, I wasn't prepared, and that kid shouted something about "Robber Cultivators" and threw me off. That was how he got close enough to ambush me.
This time is different.
This time, it's a straight-up spar. I'm ready, I have the range advantage, and I'm Level Five against his Level Four!
As long as I keep my distance and blast him with spells, how could I possibly lose?!
"Disciple... obeys!" Su He forced herself to step forward.
Two breaths later.
The two figures lay sprawled atop each other, unconscious.
The wind swept through the courtyard, stirring a few fallen leaves.
The scene was so awkward that not a soul made a sound.
Ren Wencai's shoulders trembled. He could barely keep it together.
Elder Liu stared at her two disciples lying on the ground, then at Gu Chengming, who stood with his sword lowered, calm and composed.
Her head was spinning.
Bounty for Monthly Tickets
As promised, I've managed to post the ten thousand words.
I'm also starting a small bounty.
One extra chapter for every thousand daily recommendations (maximum one per day).
One extra chapter for every two hundred monthly tickets (no limit).
One extra chapter for every two hundred blades.
No need to tip, though. Save your money and treat yourself to something nice.
Thirty-Fifth Chapter: Flowing Light Sword Shadow
The courtyard was so quiet you could hear a pin drop.
Only the breeze stirred a few yellowing leaves, sending them whirling around beside the unconscious Su He and Li Miao.
[Hundred Bones Ming watched the scene and felt a rush of satisfaction shoot from his tailbone straight to the crown of his head.]
[Wasn't this exactly how those stories went? The villainous lackeys couldn't defeat the protagonist, so they went crying to fetch reinforcements. Their elder came storming over to intimidate him, only for the protagonist to hold his own and humiliate them again in front of everyone, leaving them utterly disgraced.]
[This only further proved the theory that Gu Chengming was its "Heaven-ordained Golden Finger."]
[Hundred Bones Ming Favorability +3]
Gu Chengming listened to the excited Murmur in his mind, his expression still calm. He gave his wrist a light flick, twirled his Wooden Sword into a flourish, then held it behind his back.
"You were most gracious."
Elder Liu stood rooted to the spot, chest heaving, face grim. She stared at her two useless disciples on the ground, her fingers trembling and her knuckles white.
How could she not understand what had happened?
Before you continue